SO GOOD! As I was reading about Zacchaeus and his transformational encounter with Jesus, I was thinking about the way far too many Christians go about the task of evangelism. The approach looks something like this: "sure, we should all go visit someone like Zacchaeus; that way, we can let him know about Jesus and maybe he will be saved and not burn in hell forever." That is the majority evangelical view of what it means to "love" someone like Zacchaeus. But this isn't truly loving someone. We don't love someone SO THAT they will accept Jesus; we love because he first loved us. There is no hook, no agenda, no salvation schematic to employ...there is just love. Just love. Now, "loving someone" looks very different from person to person, situation to situation, and there are critical nuances to consider. I totally get that. I just think that the way most evangelicals understand evangelism is missing this essential truth: Jesus loves Zacchaeus because Jesus is love enfleshed. His "evangelism", his sharing of the Good News, is by radically, scandalously, fearlessly loving those who seem most undeserving of his love. And that is Good News indeed!
Thank you for this. Your words speak to all of us who seek to learn how to be Christians who can make a difference in this world. Clinging to “inner salvation and inner peace” while those around us suffer is not what Jesus intended us to be.
SO GOOD! As I was reading about Zacchaeus and his transformational encounter with Jesus, I was thinking about the way far too many Christians go about the task of evangelism. The approach looks something like this: "sure, we should all go visit someone like Zacchaeus; that way, we can let him know about Jesus and maybe he will be saved and not burn in hell forever." That is the majority evangelical view of what it means to "love" someone like Zacchaeus. But this isn't truly loving someone. We don't love someone SO THAT they will accept Jesus; we love because he first loved us. There is no hook, no agenda, no salvation schematic to employ...there is just love. Just love. Now, "loving someone" looks very different from person to person, situation to situation, and there are critical nuances to consider. I totally get that. I just think that the way most evangelicals understand evangelism is missing this essential truth: Jesus loves Zacchaeus because Jesus is love enfleshed. His "evangelism", his sharing of the Good News, is by radically, scandalously, fearlessly loving those who seem most undeserving of his love. And that is Good News indeed!
You got some preacher in you bro 😂. So good
Thank you for this. Your words speak to all of us who seek to learn how to be Christians who can make a difference in this world. Clinging to “inner salvation and inner peace” while those around us suffer is not what Jesus intended us to be.
Thank you. That’s very kind! And yes to everything you said.
And I can definitely relate to the Christian summer camp experiences! Youth rallies as well!